Chapter 3: Going Out All On My Own
It all happened so fast, it seemed as though she had entered a completely new dimension. None of this was supposed to happen.
This was supposed to be easy. She was supposed to go to Mr. Pokemon's house, get the egg, and take it back to Professor Elm's lab. Amara was supposed to be at home. She wasn't supposed to be at Cherrygrove, with a pokemon, no less. Nor was she supposed to battle. Or beat up her own sister. Julia's face throbbed, and it felt like someone was inflating a balloon inside of it with some kind of radioactive liquid. Questions swam through her mind like hungry sharpedo, the biggest being… 'Amara? Why? What happened to you?'
"Julia!"
Faint voices echoed in the distance, casting a faint light in the pitch black darkness.
"Julia! Wake up!"
That didn't sound like Amara. It sounded more like Kassia.
"Pichu!"
The memories came flooding back. Amara beating Julia bloody. Her pokemon trying to protect her. Clutching that egg for dear life. It wasn't broken...right?
"Wah!" Julia awoke with a start, her eyes flying wide open, taking in a heavy breath. The first thing she noticed was the soft, white blanket covering her legs. Her eyes then locked onto the bandages on her arms. Hikaru, Aqua, and Papillon were all sitting on the bed with her. A medicinal smell wafted in her nostrils, and the area she was in had clean white walls. She could see things like an IV catheter, a TV on the ceiling, and all sorts of odd machines with too many tangled up cords. This told her that she was in a hospital. Her fingers traced some gauze covering her nose.
Kassia's relief bubbled over, and before she could control herself, she flung herself onto Julia and wrapped her arms around her. "Julia! Oh, thank goodness!" The force of the hug was strong, almost knocking her back onto the bed. Julia could feel her face pressing against the fabric of her mother's shirt.
"Mom...crushing...me…" Julia choked out.
"Oh! Sorry!" Kassia got the hint and released her daughter from her grasp. That didn't stop Hikaru, Aqua, and Papillon from leaping on her with loud, relieved squeals, showering her with nuzzles and cuddles.
"Everyone!" Julia squealed, welcoming her beloved friends with open arms, and they took every opportunity possible to jump right in. "Thank goodness you're all okay!" Tears trickled out from her eyes. Whether it was from sleep or relief, she wasn't sure. That didn't matter, though. She was just all too happy to know that her friends were alright.
After she finished cuddling her friends, she gently put them back down on the bed. "What happened to me? How did I get here?" She asked.
"This is Cherrygrove Hospital. It's connected to the Pokemon Center," Truman explained, wiping his glasses with his sleeve. "Some witnesses called 911 and the paramedics took you here. Nurse Joy used your PokeGear to call us and told us where you were."
"I'm so sorry!" Kassia exclaimed, holding her head down to the point where her scraggly hair covered her face. "This is my fault! I should never have let you go to Mr. Pokemon's house!"
"Mom. It's okay," Julia told her reassuringly, holding a hand up. "Amara's the one who went after me. You didn't know."
Truman crossed his arms and nodded. "She's right."
One thought entered Julia's mind. "The egg! It's not broken, is it?!"
"It's fine, Jules," Kassia pointed to a nightstand right next to her hospital bed. There was the glass container, with the egg inside. The shell was completely in tact. Not a scar or blemish in sight. "We'll take it home from here, and I already called Professor Elm so he knows what happened."
A sigh of relief escaped from Julia's mouth. Thank goodness. Truman looked down at his feet with a sad expression. "Julia? Do you mind if we ask what happened?" He asked sadly.
She wasted no time telling them everything: running into Amara in the Pokemon Center, Amara using a totodile to attack her, Hikaru and the others defeating them, and then Amara beating her up in retaliation. Julia had to admit, she was surprised she was able to remember all of this. She secretly thanked her lucky stars that her pokemon were there to protect her, otherwise she would have been way worse off. As she told the story, the expressions on both Kassia and Truman's faces grew more and more horrified, like they saw a ghost pokemon in a scary movie.
One detail stood out like a sore thumb. "You said...she had a totodile?" Kassia asked, her voice trembling.
"Yeah. She isn't supposed to have a pokemon, right? Professor Elm didn't give her one, did he? He knows she's on the blacklist," There was just no way. She couldn't think of any explanation for this.
Her parents looked at each other. "She did it."
Did it? "Did what?"
Truman cleared his throat. "Julia...this…" He looked as though he didn't want to tell her what he was going to say, but he knew he couldn't lie to her. "...There's no easy way to say this. A pokemon from Professor Elm's lab was stolen. It was a totodile."
Stolen? Julia's green eyes widened. Who would steal a pokemon? From its rightful owner, no less? The surprise in her heart suddenly morphed into anger. To her, anyone who stole pokemon was a terrible person. But the more she thought about it, the pieces began to gradually fall in place. A totodile was stolen. Amara had a totodile despite not being allowed to have any pokemon. It all made a scary amount of sense.
"She stole a totodile?"
Kassia nodded. "We had no idea she would go this far…" She buried her face in her hands and sobbed. "I should have seen this coming! I wish I had done something so none of this would have happened!"
Her husband wrapped his arm around his wife and pulled her close. "Kassie. Don't blame yourself. There's no way you could have anticipated this."
"Where's Amara now?" Julia asked. "Did the police get her?"
"No," Truman answered grimly. "She escaped before anyone could catch up to her. For all we know she could be anywhere…" Worry tugged at his heart like a hungry pokemon. The whole story was too much for them to bear. Their first daughter stole a pokemon and brutally injured their second daughter for no reason other than anger and aggression. What had happened to transpire these events?
After a short while, Kassia stopped sobbing and wiped her tears. "Sorry, Jules. This is just too much...I'm at least glad you're safe…"
"Actually, you should be thanking Hikaru and the gang," Hikaru introduced her parents to Aqua and Papillon, who chirruped happily in greeting. "If it weren't for them, Amara might have hurt me a lot worse."
"Chupi!"
"Maaao!"
"Marill!"
Seeing the cheerful pokemon made smiles appear on Truman and Kassia's faces. Slowly, Kassia krept down to their level and extended her finger out so they could give her a handshake. Both Aqua and Papillon took her finger and shook it gently, happy to be acquainted with her. "They're cute. Did you catch them yourself?" Truman asked.
"Yep!" Julia announced proudly.
"You'll be a great trainer someday. They really seem to like you," Kassia said, extended her arm out for Papillon to crawl on. Delighted by the invitation, Papillon cooed before crawling up Kassia's arm, resting on her shoulder and nuzzling her cheek. "Wow. Papillon really likes you, Mom."
"She sure does!" Kassia let out a giggle as Papillon continued to nuzzle her cheek as though they had been friends forever.
"Mao maooo!" The green caterpillar cooed happily, as the peach fuzz on Kassia's cheek felt very soft and tender. Perfect for cuddling.
After a while, a doctor came and told her parents that although she sustained some bruising and a laceration on her forehead, she was for the most part fine, and was allowed to go home right this minute. To say Truman and Kassia were relieved would be an understatement. Nonetheless, they were more than happy to take Julia and her three pokemon back home. They still had to give the egg to Professor Elm though. Julia decided to take it upon herself and give the egg to Professor Elm in person, since he asked her to do it. When she got in the lab, she handed it to him without a word.
"Huh?" Professor Elm received the egg, his eyes glimmering with delight upon seeing that it was in tact. "It's a pokemon egg, and it's in tact! Thank you, Jules. I heard about what happened from your mother," He said as he put the egg on his desk. "I'm so sorry."
"It's okay. I'm just glad the egg's okay," Julia replied with a smile. "I heard your totodile got stolen. Sorry. My big sister Amara stole it. She shouldn't have done that," In her heart, she knew this wasn't anyone's fault but Amara's. Amara broke the rules and should be held accountable for it. Stealing is wrong. She knew this all too well. Still, she couldn't help but feel responsible, even though she wasn't there. She figured the bespectacled professor deserved an answer, especially for what Amara must have put him through.
"It's alright. It's not your fault. I should have been more careful," Professor Elm adjusted his glasses. "Glad to know you're okay though. Thanks for bringing the egg to me. You rest up, okay?"
"I will."
With that, Julia and her parents made it home, and the young girl spent the entire day running around in the meadow with Hikaru, Aqua, and Papillon. It felt great to be able to run around in the grass, surrounded by pokemon. The wind in her hair, the sun shining down on the meadow, the merry smiles of the pokemon she befriended, this was heaven in her eyes. The laceration on her head didn't hurt at all no matter how much she played. She did have to go inside after a while, since she needed to rest.
She took her friends to her room and decided to pass the time by reading them her favorite books, or showing them pokemon themed picture books. It felt great to be in her room after a rough day, and with her pokemon by her side, everything seemed fine. However, the sneaky beast called worry began to gradually consume her heart like a hungry pokemon. Amara was out there with that poor totodile, probably hurting it like she did the pokemon she was forced to give up. Journeying with that totodile, breaking the rules, battling other trainers, and who knows what else. Julia was sure her sister would do anything without thought of what her actions could do to both the people and pokemon around her. Some part of her was screaming in her heart to go after her. Give her a piece of her mind. Hold her responsible for everything she's done for the past year.
An answer finally came to mind. Amara was her sister, and a good sister would let them know what they've done. Without another word, Julia stood up and darted down the stairs without thinking to bring her pokemon along. She found her parents in the dining room, sitting at the table with their hands on their heads, and blurted out, "Mom! Dad! I want to go on a journey!"
Truman and Kassia turned to look at their daughter with wide eyes. They saw her balling her fists, pressing her lips together, staring at them with a serious, almost angry expression. "What?"
"You heard me. I want to go find Amara."
"Whoa. Whoa. Back up now," Truman stood up and put a hand on his daughter's shoulder. "Is this about the theft? You don't have to-"
"But I want to!" Julia shouted. "I want to go on a journey and find Amara! I don't want to sit here and do nothing while innocent people or pokemon are getting hurt!" The two parents could hear the desperation in her voice plain as day.
Kassia stood up and brushed a hand through her hair. "Julia. Let's talk about this first-"
"I know why she's doing this."
"Huh?"
"I know you don't think so, but I'm sure it's my fault Amara did what she did."
"Julia!" Kassia exclaimed. "Don't say that."
"Think about it! I get a pokemon and she doesn't? Of course she's gonna get jealous!" Julia exclaimed. Kassia and Truman stopped talking. She had a good point. "She hates me and I know it, and don't tell me she doesn't because I…" She wasn't sure what would be a good answer at this point. "...I-I-I just know it!"
People thought Julia never caught on to things like this. Even Amara thought her sister wouldn't be smart enough to notice. But Julia did notice. She always did. The dirty looks Amara would give her. The bad things Amara would say about her to her friends or anyone who did or didn't want to listen behind her back, when they thought she wasn't listening. The angry faces she would make whenever she saw her parents praising Julia for something, like getting good grades or helping around the house. They all thought she wouldn't understand. But she did, and it hurt to know about it all. Amara always took the opportunity to blame Julia for anything that went wrong in her life.
"Julia. Calm down a little. This is a matter the police are more than capable of handling," Kassia told her calmly. "You don't need to take it so personally. Besides, a journey around Johto is too dangerous anyway."
"Even so, I still want to go!"
Kassia found herself speechless. What could she say at this point? It was clear her daughter was not going to relent. Thankfully, Truman knew what to say at a time like this. "How about your mother and I talk about this first. We don't need to rush into things right away. Give us some time to discuss this further. Alright?"
Julia held her head down. She was sure they would say no. But at least it was better than nothing. "Alright," With that, she went back to her room.
A beautiful night draped its long cape onto New Bark Town, embroidering the sky with sparkling, jewel-like stars, crowned by a white crescent moon. Julia slept snugly in her bed, her body warm from the heavy blankets holding her down. Hikaru slept right next to her, with one of her diamond shaped ears rubbing against her trainer's forehead. Papillon curled up in a curly Q shape on one of her purple pillows, snoring soundly. Aqua slept at the foot of Julia's bed, her body facing the ceiling, with a snot bubble ballooning out of her black nose.
One of Hikaru's ears twitched, as a sound woke her from her slumber. She sat up and rubbed one of her weary eyes. She could hear something, as her large ears could pick up even the faintest of sounds. Curious, Hikaru slowly climbed down from Julia's bed and trotted out of the bedroom. The sound of Hikaru's pitter-pattering feet woke Papillon from her sleep as well. "Mrao?" Her large eyes weary from sleep, but catching a glimpse of the yellow mouse, Papillon crawled down from the bed and followed Hikaru from behind.
The yellow mouse stopped at the bottom of the steps, watching Truman and Kassia sit on the couch together. Papillon caught up and gently tapped Hikaru on the back, catching her attention. "Mrao mrao?" ("What are you doing?")
Hikaru turned around, not surprised to find the caterpie behind her. "Pichu chuu." ("I heard them talking and want to know what they're saying.")
Papillon tilted her head to one side. "Isn't that eavesdropping?"
"I think we should let her go," Truman said. This stopped Hikaru and Papillon's conversation as they turned to listen. "She's clearly old enough to go."
"I don't know, Truman…" Kassia replied, her voice peppered with hesitation. "She's autistic, y'know. There's so much she doesn't understand, and I don't want anything bad to happen to her."
Hikaru tilted her head to one side. "Chuu?" ("Autistic? What does that mean?") She had never heard that word before, and this was the first time someone described Julia like that. It didn't sound like anything bad. She figured she could ask Julia about it later.
"It's too dangerous," Kassia clasped her hands together, folding them so tight her knuckles turned white. "There's so much that could happen. If something were to happen...I don't know what I'd do…"
Truman put a hand on his wife's shoulder. "Do you remember what she told us at the hospital?" He asked in a low, gentle whisper. "Her pokemon protected her from Amara and the totodile she stole. That shows how much they care about her. That proves Julia can be a great pokemon trainer someday. She loves pokemon. She treats them like family, like we do. You know that."
She wanted so badly to contradict him. She wanted so badly to keep Julia here, safe, away from all the bad things that could hurt her. Away from the danger. She was still so young. But Truman had a point. Julia would have been far worse off if her pokemon hadn't protected her. Perhaps sending her to Mr. Pokemon's place did some good after all. Even so, when Julia said she wanted something, she would do anything to get it.
"Kassie. I understand what you're feeling. But maybe this'll be good for her," Truman told her reassuringly. "We can't treat her like glass. She knows about hardship. You and I know this better than anyone."
"She isn't good with money. What if someone mugs her?"
"I'll teach her how to use an ATM. I can go to the bank tomorrow and ask them to make an ATM card for her. Plus...I knew she was going to ask this someday."
Kassia whipped her head up, eyes wide with surprise. "Huh?!"
"To tell you the truth, I've been secretly saving a lot of money," Truman confessed, putting a hand on his wife's smaller one. "I knew Julia would want to go on a journey someday. I started a savings account for her when she was two, and put money in whenever I had extra. If she ever decided to go on a journey, she could be financially secure and use it for whatever she needed, like for pokemon food and potions. If she decided she wanted to do something else with her life, I'd let her use it for whatever she liked," Truman shrugged once.
Hikaru and Papillon turned to look at each other. They were confused by all the big words they were using, like ATM and financial and savings. What were all of those, and what did they mean? Was it a human thing? They weren't sure. "I think I put about $12,947 in the savings account."
It must be confessed that Kassia almost screamed upon hearing that, but she kept her hands over her mouth so as to stop herself from doing so. She didn't want to wake Julia up. Truman saved that much? She had no idea. But then again, he was always a good father, and whenever something went wrong or if something was coming up, he would always try to come up with some kind of plan or solution, no matter how far away it seemed to be. To him, having a game plan was important.
"I had no idea…"
"Sorry I kept this from you. Also, you've seen how she cares for her pokemon. Even the ones she just caught just adore her. We should let her go on a journey. There's so much she can learn from going out on her own. We'll make sure she's properly prepared. Alright?"
"It's just...I lost one daughter already," Truman could tell she was referring to Amara and the things she did. His smile turned down into a frown. "I don't know what I'd do if I lost Julia too…" He rubbed her back to console her, but he wasn't sure if it would help any. Amara was going down the wrong path. He knew it. She knew it. Julia knew it. Despite their efforts, none of them could stop her or rectify her behavior. In a way, he agreed with Julia. He hated sitting here, not being able to do anything but worry about her welfare.
As much as he hated what Amara had done, and as angry as he was for her poor choices, she was still his daughter. Amara was their daughter. He held his head up, looking at the bottom of the steps. That was when he saw Hikaru and Papillon looking at them, not even trying to hide from view. "Look."
"Chu!"
"Mao!" Hikaru and Papillon scuttled over to them and rubbed their heads against their legs, hoping to comfort them somewhat. Their frowns turned into smiles, and Kassia stretched her arm down to pet Hikaru. Papillon crawled up onto Truman's leg and sat on his lap.
"You're darling pokemon," Truman whispered, stroking Papillon's green body with his large, rugged hand. "Take care of our daughter. Okay?"
"Mao!" Papillon replied, as she understood perfectly.
Over the next week, life in the Parisa house was quiet, even pleasant. Julia's parents would give her chores to do like usual, such as feed the pokemon in the meadow, wash her laundry, put the dishes in the dishwasher, even clean up their droppings. That was the chore she always hated, but she put up with it, as she knew it would be an important part of being a trainer. One day, out of the blue, Kassia came back from a store.
"Julia? I got something for you," Kassia announced.
Curious, Julia helped her mother put down the bags and take the stuff out. "What is it?" Her mother went through a bag and pulled out a bright pink bag. It was large, round like a PokeBall, and had a white PokeBall design on the center of it, with a big, black velcro strap supporting it. Julia's eyes widened with delight as she picked it up, looking through it. There were a lot of secret pockets inside where she could put things in, like PokeBalls and her PokeGear. "Wow! This is wonderful! I love it!" She threw it on herself and wrapped her arms around her mother. "Thanks so much, Mom!"
"I'm glad you like it, because you're gonna need it."
Julia held her head up. "What do you mean?"
Kassia took in a breath before announcing, "Your father and I have been talking, and we thought about what you said. We decided that...you deserve to go out on a journey."
Was she hearing things? Julia was convinced they would never let her go. She put her fingers in her ears and pulled out some wax. Maybe she heard it wrong. They said they'd let her go on a journey. "You're not pulling my leg, right?"
"Nope."
They weren't. She knew all too well her parents would never lie about serious things like this. Just the thought of being able to go on a journey with her pokemon made her let out a squeal. Her eyes widened, sparkling with unbridled joy. "Yay! Yay yay yay yaaaaay!" Without hesitation, she jumped all around the room. At one point she even spun around in the living room.
"Now now. Calm down a little. We need to prepare so let's go up to your room," Kassia suggested.
Julia darted up the stairs faster than anyone could catch up. Her pokemon seemed to sense that she was happy about something, and couldn't help but be happy right along with her. Kassia decided to help Julia pack up for the journey, and even picked out her clothes. As happy as she was about the journey, however, Julia couldn't help but be a little miffed at her mother's insistence on picking out her clothes. The girl was quick to throw in some clean underwear and shorts, hygiene products such as toothpaste, shampoo, a towel, toothbrushes, and all of her trainer essentials.
"Mom. You don't have to do this for me," She said. "I know how to pick out my clothes."
"Sorry, Jules. Mom's always gotta make sure everything's a-ok," She replied sheepishly. Julia rolled her eyes and put some clean shirts in her bag. "Don't forget to change your under-"
"You know I always do!" Julia interrupted, her face turning red like a tomato. Aqua burst into merry laughter, rolling on the bed like she heard a funny joke. Papillon just sighed, and Hikaru hopped on Julia's shoulder. "By the way, you said you and Dad are taking me somewhere?"
"Yes. To Cherrygrove's Pokemon Center."
"You work there, right?"
"Yes. He said he wants to teach you how to do something before we let you go out."
It didn't take much to get prepared, and by the time she was packed, Julia was ready. She put her pokemon in their PokeBalls and put them in her pocket. Once they were ready, they drove off to the Pokemon Center in Cherrygrove. When they got there, Kassia went off to talk to the Nurse Joy there, and Truman escorted Julia to a small silver ATM.
"You know what an ATM is, right Julia?" Truman asked.
"Don't you and Mom use these to deposit or withdraw money?"
"Yes. That's correct. By the way, here's your very own ATM card," Truman rummaged through his pocket and pulled out a shiny, lime green ATM card. Julia took it in her hands and examined it.
"Pretty!"
"First, you slide it in that slot right there," Truman pointed to the card scanner. On cue, Julia slid it through the scanner.
"Welcome to the Automatic Teller Machine," The silver machine said in a monotone, robotic voice. The screen displayed two rectangle shaped buttons, with the left one reading Withdraw and the right one reading Deposit. "Please state your transaction."
Julia had seen them use it before, and knew what withdraw and deposit meant, so she used her finger to press the withdraw button. It displayed the current balance along with some numbers. "Please type the amount you wish to withdraw."
"Withdraw forty dollars," Truman suggested. "It'll be enough to buy potions and other items like antidotes and paralysis heals," He added.
Julia typed in the number forty and pressed the withdraw button. Two twenty dollar bills fell out of a slot underneath the screen, and she was quick to grab them. "Your account has been debited $40. Thank you for your transaction." With that, the screen went back to normal.
"Wow. That was really cool," Julia mused to herself, stashing the forty dollars in her other pocket.
"Now, I just want you to know," Truman began. "This ATM card is very important. You absolutely cannot lose it, nor should you just give it to anyone. It is only to be used in case of emergency. You can use it for trainer essentials, but don't spend it all in one day, and don't buy any junk you don't need. Okay?" The girl could tell he was serious about this, so she nodded vigorously. His smile returned. "Good."
At this time, Kassia approached them and gave Julia a quick hug. "You be careful out there," She squeezed her just a little tighter. "Be safe. Call us if you need anything."
Time away from her parents. Going out all on her own. Julia didn't have any doubts before, but a tiny mote of it sprang up in her heart. "Okay, Mom."
"No matter what, we'll always love you, and you'll always have a home with us," Kassia told her. Julia could see a stray tear fall from her eye.
"We're sure you'll do great," Truman said. "Pokemon Centers also function as inns. You can spend the night for free, they let you do your laundry, you can order food there, all that stuff. They're very convenient."
Kassia let go of her daughter and wiped the tear away. With a soft smile, she waved to her parents before stepping out of the Pokemon Center. Truman waved right back, watching as his daughter turned the corner. They couldn't see her anymore. Kassia suddenly sobbed into her husband's shirt. Without a word, Truman stroke his wife's back. Neither of them noticed some people in the lobby watching them with confused faces, wondering what the heck is going on.
On the other hand, Julia stopped in the PokeMart. Shelves were lined with all sorts of things a trainer could need. Potions, PokeBalls, ropes, PokeDolls, paralysis heals, antidotes, burn heals, ice heals, even some fresh berries in plastic cartons. There were also things trainers didn't exactly need, like stickers, plush dolls, fiction books, biographies, etc. One set of stickers caught her eye. They were a variety of shapes, like hearts, stars, tear drops, leaves, etc. They were big enough to write on. She pulled the following off of some shelves: two potions, two sets of stickers, and a mechanical pencil.
"Hello there," A PokeMart clerk said as Julia put her items on the counter. "That'll be $5.67," She handed him a twenty and waited for him to get the change in order. He handed her the change and the items she picked out in a plastic bag. "Have a nice day," Without a word, Julia darted out of the mart and onto the dirt road.
The same road she used when she went to see Mr. Pokemon. This time, she knew she had to go in a different direction. But for now, she just wanted to enjoy the scenery. She thought her pokemon might like it, too. She pulled out her PokeBalls. "Everyone! Come on out!" With that, Hikaru, Aqua, and Papillon all came out of their PokeBalls.
"Pichu!"
"Mraaaao!"
"Mar mar!"
"Guess what? We're going to travel all over Johto! Isn't that great?" She told them as she opened the sticker pack, tearing up the plastic wrap. She pulled the pencil out and wrote Hikaru on the star shaped sticker before peeling it off and placing it on Hikaru's PokeBall. She did the same with a tear drop sticker and a leaf sticker, putting the former on Aqua's PokeBall and the latter on Papillon's PokeBall. "See? I labeled your PokeBalls in case they get lost, so I know exactly which ones are mine."
"Chuuu!"
Some grass rustled beside her. A young sentret suddenly darted out from the tall grass, looking around apprehensively. Staying silent, Julia held up her PokeDex to check its gender. A blue male sign flashed at the corner. It was a boy. She stood up. "I'm gonna catch it this time. Hikaru, use Sweet Kiss on the sentret over there," Julia whispered quietly.
Hikaru nodded before blowing a kiss at the sentret. Lofty pink hearts floated over to the sentret. Once they made contact, the sentret found itself wobbling around, unable to move without falling all over itself. Its eyesight blurred and as it tried to walk, it tripped on the dirt and fell face first. Julia pulled out an empty PokeBall. "Go, PokeBall!" With a swing, the PokeBall tapped the sentret once, turning it into red light, sucking it right in.
The PokeBall's center flashed in a red light, wobbling back and forth. Julia crossed her fingers, praying that it catch it. After a few seconds, the red light vanished, and the PokeBall sat still on the ground. Julia couldn't help but jump and cheer. "Yay! I got a sentret this time!"
Her pokemon jumped right along with her. "Pichu pichu!" "Maaao!" "Marill mar!"
Julia kneeled down to pick up the PokeBall. She was quick to peel off a white, circle shaped sticker and press it on the PokeBall. Already a name popped up in her head and she was quick to write it down. She wrote Neji on the sticker. Hikaru curiously peered down at the sticker, taking note of the name written on it. "Pichu?"
"Yes. I'm calling him Neji. It means spiral, and sentret tails have a spiral pattern," Julia explained. "Let's meet our new friend!" She let Neji out of his PokeBall.
"Sentret?"
"Hi there!" Julia greeted it kindly. "Sorry we scared you back there," She kneeled down to its level. "Would you like to be our friend?"
Neji gave a soft smile before nodding. "Sentret."
"You're gonna be called Neji from now on. Is that okay?"
Neji let out a friendly cry. "Tret sentret!" He let out his arms as if he wanted a hug. Julia gave a sweet smile, happy she made a new friend.
"Hey!" A young boy's voice suddenly pulled her out of her reverie. Julia stood up, with her pokemon gathering around her protectively, even Neji.
Some grass rustled in the distance. All of a sudden, a young boy popped out from the grass. He looked to be about eight or nine years old, at least a foot shorter than she, with messy brown hair hidden away in a backwards blue baseball cap. The boy was wearing a bright yellow shirt with blue cuffs at the sleeves, blue shorts, and blue and white sneakers. Band-aids dotted his legs, like he had scratched them a lot. As soon as he appeared, Julia froze in place.
"You caught that sentret, didn't you?" The kid asked in a high pitched, husky boy voice.
"Uhhh...yes?"
"Awwww!" The kid complained, facepalming. "I was gonna catch it!"
"Oh. Sorry," Julia apologized.
"It's okay!" The kid exclaimed. "There's a bunch of them around here, so I can catch another one! Are you a trainer?"
"Uhh...yes. I...I just...started out…"
The kid crossed his arms, examining her with a keen eye. "Yeah, you do kinda look like a newbie," Julia could tell he didn't say that with malice in mind, so she didn't think much of it. But something about him looked familiar. The kid looked down at her pokemon, suddenly noticing Hikaru. "Wow! That's a pichu! Can I look at your pichu?"
"Sure. Just...be gentle," Julia told him.
"Wow! That's so cool!" The kid suddenly hoisted Hikaru in the air with his bare hands. "And it's a different color, too! Awesome!" Hikaru wriggled out of his grasp and hid behind Julia.
"Chuu!"
"You were a little rough," Julia said.
"Oh," The kid scratched his hat. "Sorry about that. I'm Joey, by the way!"
Joey. That was his name. That did sound familiar. He was the kid from the Pokemon Center who was confronted by Amara last week. "I'm...Julia," She mused shyly.
"Hey! Both our names start with the letter J! Pretty sweet, huh? You got some cool pokemon!" He pulled out his PokeBall, showing it to her like it was a trophy. "Wanna see my super awesome pokemon?"
"Sure?"
"Alright! Come on out, Rattata!" A white light appeared out from the PokeBall, materializing into a mouse shaped animal. The light dissipated, revealing a purple and cream colored mouse with red eyes, big teeth, and a curly tail.
"Rattata!"
Without another word, Julia pulled out her PokeDex to give it a look. "Rattata, the mouse Pokemon," The PokeDex said in its usual robotic voice. "Rattata are very cautious, even to the extreme. Even when they're asleep, they constantly listen by moving their ears around. They make their nests anywhere they want, will chew on anything with its fangs, and love to forage for food."
Aqua waddled over to the rattata and offered its hand out. "Marill mar mar!" Rattata didn't seem too interested, as it crossed its forelegs and turned around, leaving Aqua confused. "Marill?"
"My dad got him for me," Joey explained with a cheeky grin, crossing his arms proudly. "He's the awesomest pokemon around! He's kinda the only one I have though, but he's different from other rattata!" Julia took a couple steps away from him. "It's like he's in the top percentage of all rattata!"
"You...don't say…" Julia thought nervously. 'Man, this kid's really full of himself. I should really get going,' She told herself. She took her PokeBalls out and made her pokemon go back inside except for Hikaru. "Well, I have to go now-"
"Hey! Don't go! How about we have a battle?" Joey insisted.
"A...battle?" Something in her snapped.
Joey simply smiled and rubbed his nose with one finger. "We can battle our pokemon and see whose are the strongest! I'm gonna win, though! You do look kinda-"
Anger boiled over. The blood in her cheeks made them burn, and she clutched the strap on her bag. Before she could stop herself, she suddenly shouted, "Absolutely not!" Joey stopped talking, and his eyes suddenly widened to the point of looking like saucers. "Do you really think I'm gonna put my precious pokemon through something so cruel and barbaric?!" Even Hikaru was rendered speechless. This wasn't like her. "I refuse to let you hurt my pokemon, nor should you let your precious rattata get hurt!"
Her eyes began to blur and sting a little. Joey took a few steps back, as Julia snapped at him so much she scared him a little. She balled her fists as though she wanted to punch him for even suggesting that they have a battle. Memories flashed through her mind. Pokemon attacking each other in a room, breaking glass windows, sending flashes all over. A young Julia hiding in a corner, crying into her fists. A large, shadowy figure shaped like a woman looming over her with angry eyes.
"Pichu?" Hikaru's sweet voice brought her back to reality. When she saw the fear on his face, she darted away, with Hikaru following her.
"Hey! Wait up!" Joey called out, but she had run too far ahead.
She was only able to run for a short while before panting and resting on a stump near a cave. Hikaru caught up with her, giving her a concerned expression. "Pichu? Pichu pi pichu."
Julia wrapped her arms around herself, squeezing her eyes shut. "Sorry, Hikaru. I don't like pokemon battles. I refuse to put you or everyone else through them."
"Pi?" Hikaru tilted her head to one side, looking confused.
"Because they're cruel, barbaric, violent, and all they do is hurt you and get you in trouble! That's why!" Julia snapped.
This didn't stop some pokemon from popping out of the grass, whether to steal her food or attack her. Sometimes there was no choice, so she would have Papillon come out and use String Shot on them so she could escape without hurting them. Other times, Hikaru and Papillon would act on their own and attack other pokemon to protect her, much to her consternation. At one point, a pidgey swooped down to try and attack Papillon, had she not managed to use String Shot on it in the nick of time.
The good news was, Julia had wanted to catch a pidgey, so this was a blessing in disguise. She threw a PokeBall at the trapped pidgey, and it swallowed it up. When the PokeBall stopped wobbling, she and her pokemon cheered. "Yay! A new friend!"
"Pichu chuuu!"
"Marill!"
Julia looked down at Papillon to find something strange. The little caterpillar was spinning silk around itself while glowing in a soft, white light. "Papillon?" When Papillon was done, she had morphed into a green, crescent shaped shell with a set of eyes looking right up at her. Julia's eyes glimmered. She knew what this was. "Wow! You evolved into a metapod!" She pulled out her PokeDex.
"Metapod, the cocoon pokemon, and the evolved form of Caterpie. A steel hard shell protects its body from predators, and it silently waits for evolution. They prefer to stay very still as their innards are very soft and tender."
"Metapod!" Papillon chirruped.
"Wow! You evolved!" Julia scooped Papillon in her arms and hugged her tight. Papillon's new body felt hard yet cool, and she found this to be quite soothing. "I'm so proud of you! You're gonna be a butterfree before you know it!"
Papillon closed her eyes contentedly. She had no mouth, so nobody could tell what she was thinking. But they were sure Papillon was just as happy as the rest of them.
Julia: Pichu (Female, Jolly Nature, Thundershock, Disarming Voice, Tail Whip Sweet Kiss), Marill (Female, Mild Nature, Bubble, Tail Whip, Water Gun), Metapod (Female, Calm Nature, Tackle, String Shot), Neji (Male, Bashful Nature, Scratch, Defense Curl, Quick Attack, Fury Swipes), Pidgey (Female, Naughty Nature, Gust, Sand Attack, Tackle, Wing Attack)